Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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514. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a decision will be made on a carer’s allowance application by a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in making a decision on the application which was lodged in July 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14206/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant, property, (except their own home) or an asset that could bring in money or provide them with an income, for example occupational pensions, or pensions or benefits from another country.

A person can be considered to be providing full-time care and attention where they are engaged in employment, self-employment or on training courses outside the home for a maximum of 18.5 hours per week, provided that they can show to the satisfaction of a deciding officer that adequate care has been provided for the care recipient in their absence.

I confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 1 October 2019.

The file was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 3 October 2019 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied.

The SWI report was received by the Deciding Officer, on foot of which further clarifications were requested from the SWI on 11 June 2020 in relation to his report. A reminder issued to the SWI on 01 July 2020.

Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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515. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to increase the income threshold to qualify for the carer’s allowance; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the means test disregard has not changed since 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14223/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government acknowledges the crucial role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.

The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on these payments to carers in 2020 is expected to exceed €1.3 billion.

Carer's Allowance is a means-tested payment for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention on a full time basis. The means test for Carer's Allowance is one of the most generous means tests in the social welfare system, most notably with regard to spouse’s earnings. The amount of weekly earnings disregarded is €332.50 per week for a single person and €665 per week for a couple. This means that a couple with two children can earn in the region of €37,500 and qualify for the maximum rate of Carer's Allowance. A half-rate carer's allowance is also payable with other social welfare payments e.g. pensions and disability payments.

The conditions attached to payments of Carer’s Allowance are consistent with the overall conditions that apply to social assistance payments generally. This system of social assistance supports provides payments based on an income need with the means test playing the critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – be that illness, disability, unemployment or caring. Carer's Allowance acts as an income support for those who cannot earn an income in the open labour market due to their caring responsibilities. The continued application of the means test not only ensures that the recipient has a verifiable income need but that resources are targeted to those with greatest need.

Changes to schemes are considered in an overall budgetary and policy context and from an evidence based perspective. Some 86% of the current recipients of Carer’s Allowance have no means or means of less than €7.60 per week and would not benefit by an increase in the disregard.

Carers who would benefit from an increased disregard would be in higher income households. Given the need to target available resources fairly and equitably to those in most need, I have no plans to change the means conditions for Carer's Allowance at this juncture. While I will seek to improve the supports available for carers, any changes must be considered in an overall budgetary context.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.